Curing - best practice/check my working

[JimmyPage]

Firstly, do folk think different strains have different curing requirements/"profiles" ?

 

Second, our usual routine is harvest (completely) and then dry in hanging basket with fan on in tent. Turn daily for 7-10 days.

 

Then put loosely in small kilner jars. Burp daily for maybe 3-4 weeks, Then put into a larger jars for storage.

 

However at that stage, would some folks suggest a weekly burp for a while, for some strains ? I ask because my sense is the last strain we grew ("The Doctor") seems to need a little more curing as the smell has slightly reverted to a greeny one.

 

That said I did have a crafty grind and smoke and it was very sticky, nice high, but not much flavour ????

[Slippy One]

Hang whole plant upside down, any strain. Do nothing for 10-14 days, then trim, brown bag 1-2 days, then 3L glass jars with 15g 62% boveda’s. Burp once or twice per week or don’t bother, boveda’s work both ways. 
 

temps: 18°C and rh around 70% for the first few days, then 60% for the remaining. 
 

No fan only extraction on lowest speed. 
 

Done. 

[stummer]

I sometimes think when growing from seed some plants either have it or they don’t. Say that as been times I’ve been unhappy with everything thinking it was just average at best. Then I’d start to think it must be me and fucked it up drying or something. Sorta changed my mind about that though, when I’ve done things the same and had plants which are a really nice smoke. Yet the other phenos dried and cured in the same conditions didn’t really impress me. Have known people who cash crop to just dry and bag their stuff. No doubt a cure would improve it even more so but I certainly can’t say it’s a bad smoke. Not saying you can’t mess up the process and ruin a plant. Just sometimes feels reading online every crop will be great and if not it’s the grower who’s done something wrong. 

[Guest]

For sure.  I've got one strain that doesn't keep well.  After a month of curing she's at her best and going down hill after that. 

Conversely, I've got one that keeps getting better upto about 6 months. 

If you jar bang on 62rh I'd say a few burps are needed, or you'll end up with brown dope. 

Jar on 58ish and you don't need to burp at all. 

[Guest]

@stummer 100% genetics was my issue.  You been around for a while, no doubt you can grow a plant.  But if you start with average that's the best you can hope for, even on a perfect run. 

[Slippy One]

Growing is the easy bit, the part that requires some skill is drying and curing.

 

 

 

[KC]

I wouldn't say drying is a skill you just need decent environmental conditions. Middle of a heat wave it doesn't matter how much skill you have, it's not going to end up well without some sort of cooling/air con.

 

I've had one plant that reverted, instead of getting better it returned to the green grassy smell, but it's been the only one. No idea what happened there tbh 

[stu sleeper 20vt]

A skilled dryer may say you maybe had a big of moisture in the stalks or middle and you jarred to early (joke.kc.i know you da man really...)

I think the dry is a bit often overlooked!

People spend so much effort trying to grow top class bud then hurry the most important bit cos they wanna smoke it

 

[Amanojaku]

6 hours ago, JimmyPage said:

Firstly, do folk think different strains have different curing requirements/"profiles" ?

 

 

Depends how deep you want to go, but, yes, some terpene profiles are more prone to evaporating off at certain temps. Keeping things cool is paramount to retaining terpenes, and thus flavour. They are called volatile aromatic compounds for a reason - highly reactive to the environment (humidity, temps etc)

The main thing I've found over the years if you want to avoid the hay smell is that first of all the plant needs to actually have decent terps (so genetics and luck with phenos is def a part of it), then assuming it has, after harvest, you must keep the room cool, and the process slow - you should never really have the weed ready and dry in less than 10 days. So, right now in winter with dry air, you might want to pop the buds in jars with lids nearly closed much early to retain moisture, and slow the drying. In more humid months, you might want to keep the buds out more, to avoid mold etc. 

Never wet trim. The leaves hanging over the plant slow drying and protect trichomes from oxidisation in contact with the air. In wet trimming, the handling also physically bursts too many trichomes, liberating the terpenes, never to return. I used to always wet trim, and without fail I would lose a lot of the most volatile aromatic compounds, and often end up with hay. Slowing down drying, handling less, and trimming later has led to much better results in terms of flavour and smell. It's sort of like letting the plant 'crystallise' and seal in all those nice flavours. 

Temps are key. I don't even bother growing in Summer now because I'll get hay smells (I've got no way of cooling my room during drying). I think some terps like mycerene (so heavy indicas) might not be so volatile, but for the more interesting terps, you have to keep the room cool, and the process super slow. You can have everything else perfect, but if you dry in a warm room, game over for good smells (except certain strains). s

With all that being said, you can't always avoid some green smell at some point (maybe day 4 or 5 of drying) as there is a lot of chlorophyll being broken down. Then, if you're doing it right, sweeter smells return as it dries properly and there's no more chlorophyll or other compounds the plant emits after death off gassing.

I find myself not sticking to any particular method, you've got to be able to tell how dry it is, and never let it get too dry before 2 weeks, when it'll be ready to start curing. Burping now and again after that stage equalises humidity in the jars, but I never use boveda packs and have heard a fair bit online about them negatively effecting terpene profiles...

Soz for the essay, haha. Most of what you said you do sounds about right though, bottom line.  

[Slippy One]

10 hours ago, KC said:

I wouldn't say drying is a skill you just need decent environmental conditions. 

And therein lies the skill. 

 

[Pepe Ramon]

How much actual difference to the finished product is there? Is curing/drying only important if you intend smoking the buds? Is it important if you're just decarbing the bud, and then eating it? Is it important if I want to make extracts or infusions? Genuine questions.  

[Slippy One]

Just now, Maesteg Cannabis Club said:

How much actual difference to the finished product is there? Is curing/drying only important if you intend smoking the buds? Is it important if you're just decarbing the bud, and then eating it? Is it important if I want to make extracts or infusions? Genuine questions.  

Regardless of its purpose, a good dry/cure will lock in the terpenes so your smoke, vape, edibles or sift hash will taste the best possible. This isn’t true for bubble, which keeps most of the original terpene profile from the live plant. 
 

 

[Amanojaku]

20 hours ago, JimmyPage said:

Firstly, do folk think different strains have different curing requirements/"profiles" ?

 

 

As a side note to what I already wrote, density of buds is to be considered - my advice especially counts for dense, indica and hybrid bud structures. More wispy, small, pine cone/smaller calyx cluster bud structure haze varietals will dry quicker etc. 

[DeltaMelter]

I won't pretend to fully understand the Chemistry but Polymerisation & Homogenisation is the key in curing, there is a fuller spectrum of terpene expression in cured weed:

 

 

From this fascinating but lengthy YouTube video all about drying and curing and whats going on - well worth a watch:

 

 

[Amanojaku]

3 hours ago, DeltaMelter said:

I won't pretend to fully understand the Chemistry but Polymerisation & Homogenisation is the key in curing, there is a fuller spectrum of terpene expression in cured weed:

 

 

From this fascinating but lengthy YouTube video all about drying and curing and whats going on - well worth a watch:

 

 

Nice one! Love a nerd out on this stuff